In their seventh year of doing the CMA Awards together, Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood proved they could bring more than just cornball jokes to the hosting gig.

In their opening monologue, there were some topical jokes that could give “Saturday Night Live” a run for its money. There was an ebola-inspired song: “Quarantine,” sung to the tune of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene.”

Not long after “SNL” aired a spoof ad for “Swiftamine,” Paisley and Underwood sang a ditty about PPTSD — “Post Partum Taylor Swift Disorder,” a faux lament about Swift going pop. Sample line: “Looks like New York’s gain is Nashville’s loss, country music’s just gonna have to ‘Shake It Off.’” Read More »

Jonah Hill apologizes: Jonah Hill did an apology tour on Tuesday after using a homophobic slur over the weekend during an altercation with the paparazzi.

For his latest apology, the “Wolf of Wall Street” actor delivered an emotional apology during an appearance on the “Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.”

“I didn’t mean this in the sense of the word, I didn’t mean it in a homophobic way,” said Hill. “I think that doesn’t matter…how you mean things, doesn’t matter. Words have weight and meaning, and the word I chose was grotesque and no one deserves to say or hear words like that.” Read More »

“Accidental Racist,” rapper LL Cool J’s duet with country singer Brad Paisley, drew plenty of critical fire from some listeners for being simplistic, insensitive, and just plain bad music. But Snoop Dogg–one of the most respected MCs in rap history–heard the track early and didn’t have a problem with it.

“LL played the song for me in the studio, I didn’t think it was controversial,” Snoop told Speakeasy in a recent interview.

Snoop, who is currently going by the name Snoop Lion as he releases his first reggae album titled “Reincarnated,” says that critics have been too hard on “Accidental Racist.”

In the wake of Brad Paisley and LL Cool J getting widely ridiculed for their race relations song “Accidental Racist,” Stephen Colbert and Alan Cumming have recorded their own parody called “Oopsie Daisy Homophobe.” On the track, which addresses homophobia, Colbert sings, “Now that gay is fine, let’s fix Palestine.”

Last week, country singer Brad Paisley and rapper LL Cool J released a song called “Accidental Racist” that many critics slammed as simplistic and, maybe, accidentally racist as well. So of course, on yesterday’s “Saturday Night Live,” the cast made fun of them. After the jump, watch a clip, as well as some of the other standout moments from the show, which was hosted by Vince Vaughn and featured musical guest Miguel. Read More »

Country star Brad Paisley and rapper LL Cool J were the hot topic on social media on Monday after releasing a new collaboration titled “Accidental Racist.” The song tells the story of a white man apparently mistaken for being a racist because of an affinity for confederate flag t-shirts, which he calls a tribute to Lynyrd Skynyrd. The song also tells the tale of a black, gold-chain sporting, baggy jeans wearing young man who is apparently pre-judged because of his clothing. LL Cool J raps at one point, “If you don’t judge my gold chains, I’ll forget the iron chains.” Online reaction was harsh, with many critics calling the tune misguided, simplistic and worse. Comic Patton Oswalt’s twitter posted the note: “I can’t wait for Brad Paisley & LL Cool J’s next single: “Whoopsy Daisy, Holocaust, My Bad”" It’s clear that Paisley was seeking to get tongues wagging. On Twitter, the country musician’s Twitter feed posted the message “I hope the album rocks you,soothes you,raises questions,answers,evokes feelings, all the way through until Officially Alive.” Share your thoughts, Speakeasy readers. Did Paisley and LL fix race relations?

So,as you buy this album,I hope it triggers emotions. I hope you feel joy,heartache,triumph,surprise; you laugh,cry,nudge someone beside you

The Country Music Association Awards are being held tonight and Speakeasy is live-blogging the event. Tonight’s hosts are CMA vets (and nominees) Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley, and other stars up for awards include Taylor Swift, Keith Urban, Kelly Clarkson, Jason Aldean, Sugarland’s Jennifer Nettles, Kenny Chesney and married superstar singers Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert. Who will take home the top prizes and who will be named Entertainer of the Year? Join the conversation and leave your two cents in the comments.

7:50 pm (EDT)

It's country music time! Not long after Taylor Swift scored another number one album and another million-seller, the CMA Awards 2012 have come back to TV. Who do you think will be the big winner? Let us know in the comments.

Taylor Swift’s “Red” album has already dominated music charts, with a record-shattering (no-pun intended) $1.2 million in album sales last week. The country-music star may also top the Country Music Association Awards tonight.

Fans will find out by tuning into the 46th annual awards show which will broadcast live on ABC from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena. Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley will make their fifth consecutive stint as hosts and the pair are also nominated for Entertainer of the Year and Female Vocalist awards, respectively. Read More »

About Speakeasy

Speakeasy is a blog covering media, entertainment, celebrity and the arts. The publication is produced by Barbara Chai and Jonathan Welsh with contributions from the Wall Street Journal staff and others. Write to us at speakeasy@wsj.com or follow us on Twitter at @WSJSpeakeasy or individually @barbarachai.